Iraq's wealth is not helping the poor

Iraq's wealth is not helping the poor, let alone making the country rich. Other views: Syrian rebels' attack of the Christian town of Maloula seems to play into government hands, and US secretary of state John Kerry demonstrates his bias towards Israel.

Iraq's natural wealth is smothered by a tangle of inherited errors and ongoing mismanagement
Instead of swiftly exploiting its massive oil and gas resources to propel development and bring prosperity to large segments of underprivileged citizens, Iraq is regressing on almost every level, from security and politics to the economy and tourism, wrote columnist Abdul Zahra Al Rikabi in yesterday's edition of the Sharjah-based daily newspaper Al Khaleej.
In an article titled "Where did all Iraq's money go?", the writer said that "while Iraq is, on paper, one of the wealthiest nations in the region and the world, telling by the sheer size of its natural resources, the majority of its people are poor".
True, there is a history of "absurd wars" that the country, under the late president Saddam Hussein, got involved in, which have left behind a round-robin of sanctions and debts, costing Iraq much of its money, Al Ribaki said.
But, even with this unfortunate legacy, it still cannot justify the inability of the corruption-ridden establishment that runs Iraq today to turn that oil into wealth, he noted.
According to the Global Built Asset Wealth Index, published for the first time by EC Harris last week, Qatar topped the list of countries surveyed worldwide in terms of the annual percentage change in assets accumulated per capita, with every Qatari citizen's value of built assets standing at $140,000 in 2012, marking a 8.4 per cent increase on the previous year, according to the author.
Saudi Arabia came in second in the Arab world and sixth worldwide on that chart, and the UAE also fared well, coming third in the Arab world and the 10th globally.
If Iraq's soil is equally, if not better, endowed with natural riches compared to its neighbours, why did it fail to even place on that index?
"As oil experts would tell you, Iraq's oil might never dry up if it is managed wisely," Al Ribaki said.
According to Iraqi engineers' reports, the country's oil reserves are estimated at 350 billion barrels, significantly ahead of Saudi Arabia's reserves, which are estimated at 260 billion barrels and considered to be the world's largest.
Opec figures are lower: the organisation ranks Iraq in third place after Saudi Arabia and Iran in terms of oil reserves, which it estimates at 120 billion barrels, he noted.
That is not to mention Iraqi government reports that talk about natural gas reserves estimated at 3.9 trillion cubic metres.
Due to repeated acts of sabotage and persisting technical hitches, the extraction and marketing of Iraqi oil is not always easy, the author went on. But the country's wealth is so tremendous that it should, at the very least, curb poverty, if not create prosperity, he suggested in conclusion.
Syria opposition walks into the regime's trap
On Wednesday, the ancient Christian town of Maloula, situated in the mountainous northwest of Damascus, was invaded by opposition forces and fell without any resistance. A day later, government forces arrived and its aircraft bombed the town, forcing the rebels to retreat.
In an article for the London-based paper Al Hayat, the columnist Hussam Itani asked: "What were the military grounds for the attack and what were its tactical and political outcomes?"
Strangely, the opposition political powers didn't issue any comments regarding the offensive. This indicates that there was one of two motives behind the operation: either the "political brain" of the Free Syrian Army is completely detached from the preparations for a US-led strike and the need to rectify the distorted image, especially in the Western public opinion, of the opposition forces that are seen as extremists, or the Syrian regime security forces can influence FSA commanders and get them to carry out, knowingly or unknowingly, the agenda of the regime as it desperately seeks anything that could support its claim that it is fighting against terrorists and defending all Syrians.
"Two and a half years into the revolution, one wonders why is it so hard for the opposition leaderships to learn the intricacies of political practice and the skill to prevent infiltration into their ranks by the regime's apparatus," the writer said.
Kerry's biased efforts hinder the peace talks
Despite his busy schedule, US secretary of state John Kerry found time to meet with the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and members of the Arab Initiative Committee this week, said the Jerusalem-based Palestinian daily Al Quds in its editorial.
Ms Abbas stated that Palestinians and Israelis are resolved to continue direct peace talks.However, around the time of the meetings, Mr Kerry was urging the European Union to postpone its decision to ban financial dealings with Israeli settlements, which he referred to as "Israeli establishments on Palestinian territories."
"Such bizarre positions contradict the simplest principles of peace. They reveal blatant disregard to the Palestinian and Arab efforts in support of talks," the paper said.
This is a development that dissipates any illusions about Washington's unbiased position in the issue.
"It is up to us to review the viability of negotiations in view of the obvious US bias and the Israeli plans for new settlements and the judaisation of Jerusalem," the paper added.
Many Palestinians have lost faith in the negotiations anyway. They see it as futile and a mere cover for Israeli practices, the paper noted.
* Digest compiled by the Translation Desk
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